


The Fires of Heakoni

by AutisticKogayne



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Cardverse, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticKogayne/pseuds/AutisticKogayne
Summary: As the King's most trusted Knight, Alfred F. Jones is sent to investigate claims of a destructive witch in an outskirt town of Heakoni. What he finds there however, is exactly the opposite of what he was expecting.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Christmas USUK gift exchange gifted to Blackroseauthoress on tumblr. As they are in the top five of my favorite fanfiction writers, I was really anxious about getting this out, but I hope you enjoy it! Also, if you can guess where I got the idea for the town names, I'll write you a oneshot of your choice!

In the kingdom of Spades, magic was well understood, from common witchcraft to the divine magic that chose the rulers. Although most larger towns had no problem with the local witches, and would even often employ them for simple tasks, smaller, more isolated towns would often blame local witches for problems such as disease and crop failure, and banish the witch.  
Which is what had led to Alfred F. Jones current mission. Alfred was the highest of the King’s knights and as such, had been the most trusted for the current task. Word had come from the village of Heakoni, a small village on the easternmost edges of Spades, and the birthplace of the current Spadian King, Frederick L. Jamison that there was a witch who had taken it upon themselves to cause as much general mayhem as possible. Reports spoke of dying cattle, the fish disappearing from the local rivers and ponds, and major crop failure.  
The king had entrusted Alfred with the mission of traveling to Heakoni and ending the witch’s chaos, whether through peaceful negotiations, or through death. Alfred was really hoping for the former option. Although he _was _the King’s most trusted knight, if he could avoid causing harm to someone, he would do whatever it took.__  
It was late at night, several days later when Alfred finally rode into the town, the sound of his saddlebags jingling just barely keeping him awake. When he noticed he had actually arrived, he perked up, stopping his horse to look around.  
The town looked like every other small town, with small cottages and dirt paths. The fields for crops could be seen just over the hill, and the river flowed cleanly alongside town. There was a small market area with several stalls filled with food and trinkets, as well as what appeared to be a small hotel and stable. Alfred led his horse to the stable, handing the reins over as well as a few gold coins, and heading to the hotel to see if he could grab a bite to eat, a bed, and maybe some information on the local witch.  
As soon as he stepped inside the hotel, a young woman ran up to him, long brown hair pulled into two pigtails tied up with bright red ribbons.  
“Hello, I’m Michelle and welcome to the best hotel in Heakoni, and probably in all of Spades. What can I help you with?” She smiled, reaching a hand out to brush his shoulder.  
“I’m just looking for a bite to eat, a place to sleep, and some information.” He smiled, giving her a quick wink and watching how her face flushed.  
“Well, I’m sure I can help you with all that.” She grinned, waving another man over and fiddling with her hair.  
Once the food had been ordered, a room picked out and checked, and everything payed for, Michelle smiled back up at Alfred, sitting softly on the edge of his bed.  
“So, what kind of information are you looking for?” She questioned, playing with the hem of her skirt and looking up at him from under her bangs.  
“Well, I’m actually here from the Capital. The King sent me to investigate the claims of a witch?” He spoke, watching as she froze, getting up to shut the door to the room, locking it quickly and rushing back to Alfred’s side.  
“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but Arthur is a perfectly kind man and he doesn’t deserve the trouble he gets here.” She glared, pointing a finger sharply into Alfred’s chest.  
Alfred put his hands up in surrender, staring surprised down at Michelle.  
“Woah now, I’m not accusing _Arthur _of anything. The King sent me because of the claims of dying cattle, the fish disappearing from the local rivers and ponds, and major crop failure.”__  
Michelle raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest and letting out a huff.  
“Honestly, the people in this town are so conservative and ridiculous. The cattle were being killed by some wolves from the forest, which _Arthur took care of _, the fish were gone because of overfishing, and the crop failure was minor, at best. Arthur has done _nothing _but help this town, most of the time at risk to himself. His house has been attacked no less than 6 times this month, and his garden destroyed 4 times, and yet, he still comes into town to deliver medicines to families that are sick, helps care for the crops and animals, and he asks for _absolutely _nothing in return. I’ll be _damned _if I let some misguided knight come in and ruin Arthur’s life because of some conservative morons.” Michelle hissed, face red and scrunched in anger.________  
Alfred blinked in shock, dropping his hand as Michelle continued to glare at him.  
“Alright, I clearly don’t know this Arthur as well as you, but if what you say is true, then I have no problem with him. I’m only here to make sure this town is safe, under direct order from the King.”  
Michelle stepped back, sighing tiredly and sitting back on the bed.  
“Honestly? Arthur is a wonderful man. He helped me when my husband died, even when nobody else would. Even when it meant the villagers shunned him even more. I love Arthur like family, and I wish he would leave this damn town, move somewhere where magic is more accepted, but he refuses, and refuses to tell me why. I’ll make you a deal, and I’ll tell you where to find Arthur and how to get him to talk to you, but you have to promise me that’ll you’ll listen to him. Arthur deserves someone who will trust and listen to him, and it’s not fair to him that the only person willing to do that is me.”  
Alfred took a deep breath, sitting beside Michelle and crossing his arms in his lap.  
“I promise, on my honor as a knight, that I will do everything in my power to help Arthur and this village.”  
Michelle glared at him for a second before sighing.  
“Alright, his cottage is in the woods near the north eastern part of town, and the only way he’ll listen to you is if...:”  
~~~~~~~  
Alfred glanced around at the cottage before him, trying to make sure that Michelle had sent him to the right place and not to some abandoned shack where he’d be ambushed and killed. The cottage was cozy looking, with varying flowers lining the stone path leading to the front door, and an odd sort of garden surrounding the house and climbing the walls. Dark green curtains were drawn shut blocking a decent view of the inside, but the chimney atop the house was billowing with smoke, telling Alfred that this _Arthur _was indeed home.__  
Glancing down at the small, nondescript brown bag Michelle had handed him when sending him on his way, he stepped forward, reaching up to knock at the door, making sure to knock gently as to not knock it down.  
The nearby forest seemed to still at the loud thuds from the knock, but within a few seconds, the door creaked open just enough for Alfred to see one bright green eye staring at him through the crack, seemingly surveying him before drifting up to his face.  
“What do you want?” The man asked, glancing back down to the bag in Alfred’s hands.  
“Ummm, Michelle sent me. Told me to bring you this?” Alfred said with a lopsided grin, holding up the bag to show Arthur, giving a small shrug when Arthur raised an eyebrow.  
“Alright, leave the bag and go then. No need to bother me.” Arthur said, getting ready to shut the door, but being stopped by Alfred shoving his foot in the small gap.  
“Sorry man, Michelle told me to only hand them over once you let me in to talk.”  
“To talk? What in God’s name could I have to talk to you about?” Arthur sneered, opening the door just a little further to glare.  
“I’m Alfred F. Jones, sent from King Frederick to investigate claims of a chaos causing witch in the town of Heakoni. Michelle told me to look for you, and to get your side of the story. She said this town is a _little _too reliant on old world stories, and that you weren’t actually that bad.”__  
Arthur opened the door fully at that, letting Alfred see what the man fully looked like, messy blond hair, short stature, messy clothes, and large eyebrows and all.  
“Why would the King send a knight to investigate Heakoni? I mean, no offense to his majesty, but we’re not exactly the _hub _of Spades. I’m sure there’d be no problem if he just ignored the problem.” Arthur glared, stepping aside to let Alfred into the house. “But I suppose if the King sent you, I may as well listen.”__  
Alfred grinned, stepping forward into the house and glancing around.  
“Alright Arthur, let’s talk.” Alfred said, turning to grin at the witch behind him.  
~~~~~  
After several months in Heakoni, Alfred could easily say that Arthur was indeed, _not a threat _. At all. Alfred would spend hours at Arthur’s house under the excuse of “surveillance”, when really, he was making up excuses just to get closer to the man. Arthur spent all day either working in his garden, or making spells and potions to help out the local townspeople, even when they would yell and curse at him for doing so, and even when he would come back to the cottage bruised and beaten, he would refuse to give Alfred names.__  
Alfred consistently sent messages to the King letting him know that he was still investigating and would report back when he had solid evidence, for either party’s claims. While he was staying in Heakoni, he stayed at Michelle’s hotel, but would spend pretty much every day with Arthur. The two grew close, with Arthur teaching Alfred how he cared for his plants, and Alfred telling Arthur about his life. Alfred realized after so long with Arthur, that he was falling for the man. He decided he needed to leave, but he didn’t want head back to the Capital without making sure everything was sorted out between Arthur and Heakoni, so he decided that one day, he was going to head to the nearest town, about a half days ride away to sort things out in his head., and the one time he decided to head to the nearest town to pick up a few essentials, he regretted it the second he stepped back into town.  
~~~~~  
The forest was burning, or at least it looked like it was. Alfred jumped off his horse, dropping his bags and running towards where the thick, black smoke was billowing from. Before he made it there, Michelle ran in front of him, arms outstretched and tears streaking down her face.  
“Michelle! What happened?” Alfred yelled, reaching out to study the woman as she collapsed into him.  
“It’s Arthur! The village decided they wanted to get rid of him once and for all, so they blocked the doors and windows of his cottage last night, and then set it on fire this morning. It’s been burning for almost two hours. God, Alfred, they’ve killed Arthur. They actually killed him.” She cried, sinking to her knees and covering her face with her hands.  
“If I’ve learned one thing about Arthur from my time here, it’s that he’s too stubborn to do anything he doesn’t want to. Stay here Michelle, I’m going to go look, and I’ll be damned if I don’t bring Arthur back with me.”  
Michelle nodded as Alfred ran for the forest. He ducked between trees as he ran, mentally praying that Arthur was safe. When he got to the house, he had to stop to take a breath. The whole right side of the cottage was a burnt out shell, and the left side was still smoldering. The garden was trampled and destroyed, and the roof looked ready to collapse at any moment.  
Alfred rushed forward, trekking into the safest looking part of the house, calling for Arthur as he searched the rubble. He searched the still standing part first, hoping that Arthur was simply hiding, but when he didn’t find him, he rushed to sift through the collapsed part of the house. When he found Arthur, the man was unconscious, several bruises covering his face and arms, and a shallow cut bleeding freely across his forehead. Alfred hurriedly scooped the man into his arms, being careful not to jostle him as he ran for Michelle’s hotel, knowing there was a back door he could take so the villagers wouldn’t know Arthur had lived.  
When he burst through the door, Arthur bruised and bloodied in his arms, Michelle  
jumped up into action, instructing Alfred to lay Arthur on a small cot and running for her first aid supplies. When she returned, she threw a pitying look at Alfred, reaching a hand out to grab his shoulder.  
“Alfred, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I’m sure Arthur would prefer the privacy, and I think it’d be best if you went to relax and contacted the king.”  
Alfred froze, wanting to disagree, but knowing she was right, he agreed, leaving the room through the main entrance and heading back to his room. When he got there, he pulled out his communication device and called the King. When the man answered, he jumped right into it.  
“Your Majesty, I’ve got the latest updates here in Heakoni, and as your highest knight, and your friend, I wanted to beg for a favor…”  
~~~~~  
Alfred had had to almost beg, borrow, and plead to get the King to agree to what he asked, but when everything was sorted, Arthur had been declared dead to the people of Heakoni, and safely moved to the Capital city of Kali’mi. Magic was widely accepted, which had led to Arthur getting a good job at a nearby shop. He’d been able rebuild his garden, which flourished more than it ever had in Heakoni, and had even been able to openly study magic, leading to him joining a group nearby which had helped his magic grow far beyond what either of them thought possible.  
Arthur had even grown increasingly comfortable in Kali’mi and with Alfred. With how close the two grew, it became inevitable that eventually, they’d have to talk about it.  
“Hey Alfred?” Arthur asked as they were sitting to eat dinner, stirring his fork through the noodles in front of him. “Have you ever thought about...us?”  
Alfred paused, food hanging half out of his mouth as he stared at Arthur.  
“Us? What about us?” He asked, gulping down his food and staring at Arthur.  
“I just, I meant us. You saved me after the attack in Heakoni, you pulled I don’t know how many favors to move me here, you let me basically take over your house and yard, and yet, you don’t think there’s even a little bit of an _us _?” Arthur glared, staring Alfred down angrily.  
Alfred paused, setting his utensils down and reaching across the table to hold Arthur’s hand.  
“I didn’t realize that there was an us Arthur, and I didn’t think there was ever a chance that there would be an us. But, I swear on my knighthood to the King, I would do anything for you Arthur, and I’d like one of the things I can do for you, to be loving you. So, maybe a little late, but Arthur Kirkland, will you go out with me?”  
And as Arthur beamed and nodded, Alfred knew he had made the right choice by taking the mission in Heakonil__


End file.
